<p>The 4,500 Freshman class size I mentioned in the past was under the assumption that Michigan privatized, and the bulk of undergrads paid OOS tuition. </p>
<p>As a public university, a Freshman class size of 5,500 is optimal, and I believe that is what the University should aim for, not as a target, but rather, as an absolute ceiling. In other words, they should assume a higher yield rate than recently recorded, say 43%. In order to fill the class, the University would admit 12,800. A more likely yield would be 40%. So out of 12,800, 5,100 would enroll. The remaining 400 would be admitted off the waitlist.</p>
<p>This announcement seems like a new direction for the University (President Schlissel’s initiative perhaps?), which in past years seemed perfectly happy to over-enroll by hundreds of students annually. I have seen Michigan’s undergraduate student population grow from a barely manageable 22,000 when I was a Freshman in the early 1990s to a now completely ridiculous 28,000 undergrads today. I hope the university is serious about reducing the size of its Freshman class and undergraduate student body.</p>